MLB Pick: St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres

Can the Cards Get Back on the Winning Track Tonight?

The St. Louis Cardinals (20-14 Overall, 8-7 Away) start a four-game series against the San Diego Padres (14-24 Overall, 8-15 Home) tonight at 10:10 p.m. E.T. at PetCo Park. After posting five straight wins against the White Sox and Cubs, the Cards lost two games to the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota outscored St. Louis in those two games 13-1. This past week, the Padres went 2-1 versus the Dodgers and then 1-2 when they hosted the Nationals. The nest Washington last night 2-1. Our St. Louis plays San Diego MLB pick has the Cards at -132 and the Padres at +130. The over/under sits at 7.5 and the run line offers the visitors at +124 and the home team at -130.

Cardinals at Padres Pitching

The major difference between these two teams is the pitching. St. Louis pitchers have posted a 3.39 ERA, while San Diego hurlers are at 4.35. The Cards are also better when it comes to opponent batting average, .243 to .256. Two righties go tonight, as St. Louis starts Miles Mikolas (4-0 W/L, 2.70 ERA, 31 SO) and San Diego Jordan Lyles (0-0 W/L, 3.66 ERA, 16 SO). Mikolas has tossed 40 innings, while Lyles 19.2.

The St. Louis pitcher last took the mount against the White Sox on May 4. He went seven innings allowing no runs on seven hits. He won that game 3-2. Lyles last appeared against the Giants where he went 1.2 innings and allowed no runs on no hits. He’s primarily been a reliever. This season his longest appearance was two innings.

Offensive Matchups

There are a lot of players on the Cards who are injured. However, the team’s top offensive performers are healthy. Those include Paul DeJong (.350 BA, 14 RBI, 7 HR), Tommy Pham (.323 BA, 14 RBI, 5 HR), and Jose Martinez (.287 BA, 19 RBI, 4 HR). Each player has over 30 hits thus far this season. Christian Villanueva (.243 BA, 20 RBI, 9 HR), and Eric Hosmer (.271 BA, 12 RBI, 5 HR), are the top performers for the Padres. Watch out for Villanueva big bat in this game.

Our St. Louis Plays San Diego MLB Pick

We’re taking starter Mikola all the way in this game. Our St. Louis plays San Diego MLB pick is the Cards at -1.5 with run line odds of +124. We also like the under at -7.5 ay -104. That’s due to both the Padre pitching situation and their lack of offensive punch.

Cardinals at Padres Pick Summary: Cards at -1.5 and +124 and under 7.5 (-104)

Paul has been writing about sports betting and sports for more than a decade, offering picks on the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA, as well as on college sports and European football. He's written thousands of season and post-season previews, innumerable articles on sports betting strategies, and various books on sports and sports betting.